Creative Think

We Measure the Shortest Shadows of the Year!

One of the pluses of swimming Masters at noon is that we get to observe the sun's transit on a daily basis. [The sun's transit is its highest point in the sky each day. Throughout the year, this usually occurs sometime between 12:00 Noon and 1:20 PM — depending on whether we're on standard or daylight time.]

This time of year (Solstice time), the sun marks its transit at approximately 76º high in the sky at our latitude. Today this occurred at about 1:09 PM for our location (according to my celestial data app). [Stanford's latitude is 37.42º. Subtract from that number 23.5º which is the earth's tilt = 13.92º. Subtract 13.92º from 90º (directly overhead) and you get approximately 76º.]

For the second straight year, Noon Masters observed this passage. Rocket scientist Steve Fuselier (right) and I (left) measured a vertical poolside pole and the length of the shadow it casts at 1:09 PM. Having two sides of a right triangle, we then did a simple trigonometry calculation (tan-1) to determine the sun's height at its transit. According to our crude measurements, we calculated about 76º+. So, we were pretty close.

What does this all mean? If you swim at noon, you get the shortest shadows of the day. And today's was the shortest of the year!

As Carl Spackler would say: "So we've got that going for us . . . which is nice." [Make sure you check out this video]

Happy Kit Puts A Smile on Your Face

Would you like to be happy?

No problem at all. Here's your "Happy Kit." Guaranteed to put a smile on your face. Just follow these simple instructions.

Financial Collapse Explained in 3 Minutes

Source: http://www.thecomingdepression.blogspot.com

Niftiest Logo I've Seen in a While

It was made by logo designer Richard Fonteneau.

The logo has two visual elements: The golfer and his swing, the spartan face/helmet. Quite clever. Makes you look twice . . . and think twice.

[via Alex von Oech]

From the comments by Wes George:

This kind of ambiguous imagery has broader implications for how the whole cognitive mind responds to patterns. Notice that it is really difficult to hold both the golfer image and the Spartan in the mind's eye at the same moment and impossible while not vigilant.

Could this be a metaphor for how the human mind handles far more complex data sets and in fact be the explanation for confirmation bias and even the potential for human cooperation? For instance, once a researcher has “seen” that the evidence for a hypothesis is solid there is a tendency to only see new data in the light of the picture already dominant in the mind’s eye.

This tendency is massively increased in highly emotional charged situations such as political or cultural debates. If so, this is certainly one of the greatest hardwire blocks to humanity’s creative potential. And if it is physiologically based, then could it also be the result of natural selection forcing to limit the creative gestalt in human society in favour of cooperation? Or did this type of cognitive latching simply evolve out of the need to identify patterns rapidly and decisively rather than to dither as the lion stalks, so to speak.

Color Names

This is about right. What do you think?

 
 
 

 

Carbon Credit Humor

The Internet makes many new enterprises possible.

For example, I recently ran across this example.

Hooray for human ingenuity! The guy in the bed has used the Internet to combine his sloth (sleeping in) with environmental concern (people wishing to offset their carbon use) and clever marketing ("having an environmentally friendly day"). Made me laugh!

For example, I recently ran across this example.

Hooray for human ingenuity! The guy in the bed has used the Internet to combine his sloth (sleeping in) with environmental concern (people wishing to offset their carbon use) and clever marketing ("having an environmentally friendly day"). Made me laugh!

Tomato and Asparagus Synergy

Here's some amazing synergy!

Gardeners know that when tomatoes and asparagus are planted together, they have a beneficial effect on one another.

• Asparagus roots exude a chemical that kills many of the nematodes that either feed of tomato roots or carry diseases to the plant.

• Tomatoes repel the asparagus beetle.

Both plants do better when planted together!

What other examples can you think of?

The Wrong Way to Pee

Beware of urinating on electrical power lines. Illustration from the 1931 electric safety book Elektroschutz in 132 Bildern (hat-tip: Tim Siedel).

Best Falling Domino Video of 2009

One thing can lead to another . . .  and another!

I've always had a soft spot for falling domino videos. Here's the best one I've seen in 2009 (hat tip to Alexander Gartley). Two minutes in length.

Dominoes Everywhere from Jared Lyon on Vimeo.

Wally Learns the Stairs

Here's a short video (35 seconds) of Wally, one of our Corgis, when he was ten weeks old and learning how to go down the stairs from my office.

Moral: Be persistent, and practice makes perfect.